Spanish professional football FC Barcelona raced six straight victories in the Primera Liga (La Liga), pursuing the lead Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0.
Barcelona continued a steep rise of 19 games undefeated (16 wins and 3 draws) including the recent 6 consecutive wins in the league, accumulating 65 points, placing La Liga in second place.
Atletico Madrid, who has been running in the lead since the 13th round, were caught 0-1 in Seville this round and maintained 66 points, while Barcelona caught up closely with one point difference, laying the groundwork for a leap forward.
On this day, Barcelona, with Lionel Messi, who increased the record of Barcelona’s all-time appearances to 769 games, as well as Dembele and Antoine Griez’s offensive squad, seldom scored a goal against the lower-ranking team Valladolid.
In the 34th minute of the second half, Valladolid midfielder Oscar Plano was sent off for an unreasonable tackle against Dembele, and the balance of 0 continued after Barcelona gained the numerical advantage.
The only goal of the game came in the 45th minute of the second half.
Ronald Araujo headed the cross of Frankie Deyong on the right side, and Dembele finished with a left-footed shot in the goal area, giving Barcelona a valuable winning goal.
Barcelona fired 25 shots on this day, three times more than Valladolid (7).
Valladolid, who had only 1 win, 6 draws and 5 losses in the recent 12 league games, including the defeat on this day, stayed in 16th place (27 points).
/yunhap news
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